Letting-out of hides and similar materials

ABSTRACT

A hide is let-out by being cut across its width along one line into two parts, the two parts then being longitudinally staggered and being stitched together. The process is repeated along lines staggered laterally in relation to the first cut line. During this process, the hide is held between a pair of holders movable in mutually perpendicular directions whereby to tension the hide for cutting and to stagger the cut parts prior to stitching.

United States Patent [191 Rabanus [111 3,854,309 [4 1 Dec. 17, 1974LETTING-OUT OF HIDES AND SIMILAR MATERIALS [76] Inventor: Kurt Rabanus,Grabenstrasse 22,

5608 Radevormwald, Germany 22 Filed: Jan. 30, 1973 21 App]. No.: 328,007

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Jan. 31, i972 Germany 2204399[52] US. Cl. 69/23 51 int. Cl ..Cl4b 1/40 [58] Field of Search 69/22,23, 19 I [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,573,292 l0/l95lYost .L 69/22 X 3,611,964 l0/l97l Piampiano 69/22 X 3,748,212 7/1973Piampiano et at; 69/22 x I FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 569,485l/l959 Canada 69/19 Primary Examiner-Alfred R. Guest Attorney, Agent, orFirmBucknam and Archer I 57] ABSTRACT A hide is let-out by being cutacross its width along one line into two parts, the two parts then beinglongitudinally staggered and being stitched together. The process isrepeated along lines staggered laterally inrelation to the first cutline. During this process, the hide is held between a pair of holdersmovable in mutually perpendicular directions whereby to tension the hidefor cutting and to stagger the cut parts prior to stitching. I

7 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEL- 3.854.309

SHEET 10F 4 Fig] PATEHTEG IKE 1 H974 SHEET 2 OF PATENTEU 05a 1 7x974SHEET t UP 4 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 7 1. Field of the Invention Theinvention relates to the letting-out of hides, skins, and other similarmaterials,hereinafterreferred to simply as hides."

2. Description of the Prior Art When letting-out hides, parts of thehides or hide areas are cut up and are reassembled in such a way thatthey are suitable for .further treatment in extended form.

In the fur trade,- the letting-out of hides is carried out mainly byhand with the aid of separate machines.

The hide in its natural state is first of all cut lengthwise by hand. i

The two hide halves arein this process cut into individual hide strips,starting from the leather side, partly,

by hand, partly by machine, so that the wool under the hide isinjured'as little as possible. The angle of the cutting strips to thelongitudinal direction may vary from hide to hide. Often, the necessarystaggering from strip to strip has to be changed within one hideprocessing operation, so as to be able to give the hide a definiteshape. 1

Each strip of hide is then staggered in relation to the adjacent stripand then the strips are stitched together with a sewing machine. Thisstaggering of the hide strips in relation to one another produces alengthening of the hide. The overlapping edge portions of adjacentstrips are levelled after'the stitching of all thehide strips. As theunder-wool and the points (awn) of the hide do not lie vertically to theleather, it is necessary during the' stitching process to rub thehidemanually vertically downwards, that is to say parallel with theleather'surfaces, so that the under-wool is not stitched together withthe'hide. The stroking or rubbing of the wool can also be carried out inpart with compressed air. a

After the two hide halves have been let out and levelled on thesides,the halves are again stitched together SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccording to' one aspect of the present invention,-

' the staggered parts of the hide.

The hide holders can be in the form of plates with the said opposedsurfaces thereof being parallel.

Also, the said opposed surfaces of the hide holders can be undercut.

In the area of the opposed surfaces of the hide holders, the base platepreferably has a recess into which the hair of the hide can freelyextend downwardly. By this means a simpler lying open of the hairis madepossible, this being of significance for the subsequent operatingprocesses.

The hide hair may be laid open purely mechanically p in such a way thata carriage with a needle-type point drives into the hair and lays the.hair apart in the manner of a partingso that the leather is exposed in'alongitudinal direction. Alternatively, the carriage can be provided withan air nozzle for 'this purpose.

Suitably a longitudinal recess is provided at the end of the needle-typepoint, wherebyby the parting lies'exthe hide out through is movablymounted on the guide I actly over the recess, so that the leather of thehide can rail parallel with the direction of cutting.

there is provided a process for letting-out hides comprising the stepsof automatically dividing the hide with one cut only over the width ofthe hideinto two hide a is provided a device for letting-out hidescomprising base plate means, at'least two hide holders, said holdersjustable distance and .being arranged onthe base plate having opposedsurfaces and being mounted at an admeans, said holders beingdisplaceable in relation to each other in mutually perpendiculardirections, means for cutting a hide tensioned between the hide holders,

' of the device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION oF rIIE DRAWINGS Embodiments of the invention will nowbe described, by way of example only, with reference to the accom- Ipanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIGQI is a plan view of a device for letting-out hides;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section through a portion of the device of FIG. 1;V

FIG. 3 is a section similar to that of FIG. 2, and showing thearrangement during a hide-hair parting operation;

FIG. 4 is a section similar to that of FIG. 3 and showing thearrangement after the parting operation in which parting means, a guiderail, and the portion of the hide therebetween are raised and the hideholders of the device are moved towards each other;

FIG. '5 is a section similar to that of FIG. 4 in which the guide railand the parting means have been moved respectively upwardly anddownwardly away from the hide, and the hide holders 2 and 3 are shiftedtowards each other in such a way that they grip the cutting line ofadjoining hide ends for the stitching process;

FIG. '6 is a plan view of another embodiment of a device in accordancewith the invention, in which the two hide halves made by one cut aresimultaneously worked side-by-side at the same time; and

H6. 7 is a perspective view of-a {further embodiment I DESCRIPTION OFTHE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS According to FIGS.'1 and 2, thehide lies withits nonhairy leather side between hide holder plates 2, 3 and is clampedagainst a base plate with a relatively low force. As shown in FIG. 2 theorientation of the hide hair is undisturbed in a part thereof which lieswithin a recess 5 inside the base plate 4. The working process starts inthis part. A carriage 9 having a needle-like tip moves beneath a guiderail 6 in the direction of a longitudinal slit 7 in the rail 6'and partsof lays open the hide hairs crestwise (crownwis'e) away from one anotherover the entire breadth of the hide. As shown in FIG.

3 there is at the upper end of the carriage 9 a longitudinal recess 8which lies beneath the parted section of the -hair. After the hide hasbeen made ready in this way for a cutting process, thehide fixed betweenthe guide rail 6 and the carriage 9 (as shown in FIG. 4) is fedupwardly; at the same time, the opposed side edges l5, 16

of the hide holders plates 2, 3 move towards each other and press thehide against the carriage 9. A rotary blade 14 of a cutter 12 is loweredonto the hide through the i The hide holders can alternatively beconstructed in the form of hide holding members provided with needles,in particular in the form of rollers provided with needles; with thislatter construction accurate holding of the hide portions and a simplehide feed is provided.

The hide is fed through the-device in such a way that i the hide is fedfrom theunprocessed portion of the hide In the devices described thesewing machine for stitching together of the separated hide ispreferably moved along the stationary hide. The sewing machine slit 7 inthe guide rail 6 anddivides the hide in the longitudinal direction ofthe slit 7, the cutter 12 moving along a guide rail 13 parallel to theguide rail 6. After hide holder plate 2is moved against the hide holderplate 3 in the x direction (FIG. 1) whereby the holder plates are offsetor staggered. This staggering movement is followed exactly by the hideportions which lie against the hide holder plates 2, 3, since thefriction coefficient ofthe combination leather-material of the hideholder plates can be made very high. After the two hide portions havebeen stitched together the hide holder plates 2, 3 move away from eachother, until the processed hide again lies along the x-axis. The hideholder plate 3 is then released to permit movement of the hide bydisplacing the hide holder plate 2 in the xdirection.-When the hideholder plates 2, 3 are again in their initial-position, the process isrepeated.

The device shown in FIG. 6 is so constructed that two hide parts 17 .and17 formed in the first instance by one cut can be worked at the sametime alongside each other. For the purpose two pairs of hide holders 18,19,

19 are provided and are moved through ajoint guiding and driving device.In this case, one hide holder 18 is common to each pair and is movableonly perpendicularly to the direction of movement of the carriage, i.e.

the holder 18 is movable only in the y-direction. The other hide holdersl9 and 1.9 ofthe two pairs are, on'

plates, provision is preferably made for a recess in the plate underwhich the processed hide is located, to permit horizontal positioning ofthe processed hide portion.

can, as already mentioned in connection with the device of FIG. 6, bemoved stepwise by a step-by-step motor. During the stitching, thepiercing of the needles through the hide portions and the pullingthrough of the thread is effected whilst the sewing machine is at rest.The step-by-step onward movement of the sewing machine during the timewhen the needle lies beyond the hide portions, can also be effected bymeans of a spindle and a dynamically operating electromagnetic ormechanical brake.

The necessary drive can be providedby purely mechanical,electromagnetic, hydraulic or pneumatic means or by a combination ofsuch means. e

The process particularly described has the following advantages a.Cutting occurs practically without loss of hair;

b. Accurate staggering is provided by a constant c. The staggering canbe varied according to a predetermined program;

d. Accurate stitching is effected without the inclusion of hide hair;

' e. Smoothing in of hide hair during the stitching pro-.

cess is obviated, as the hair as a result of the pro- .cess isso-oriented that it cannot be stitched in;

the process,-independent of the of treatment of the hide by the hideoperator working on it at the time;

j. Reduction of the labor force as several machines and conventionalmotive means coupled or otherwiseconnected to these various elements ina known-man ner so as to enable them to perform'their specifiedfunctions. The base means 4 is disposed to receive the hide to be letout and has an elongated opening 5 exf. Accuracy and cleanliness ofletting out are, during tending along and about a reference cuttingline. From FIGS. 2-5, it can be noted that the holders 2 and 3 areoperable to'grip the hide I along two first lengthwise regions disposedin opposite spaced-apart relation about the cutting line. These firstregions are where the plates 2 and 3 overlie the lip of the base means 4that defines the boundaries of the opening 5. The holding plates 2 and 3are movable relative to each other along the cutting line and alsomovable relative to each other along a line transverse the cutting line.The second pair of holders, rail 6 and carraige 9 are located within thelateral boundaries of opening 5, and are movable relative to each otherand cooperate to grip the hide along to second lengthwise regionsdisposed between the cutting line and the first regions. The rail 6contacts the hide on the hair-free side thereof whereas the carraige 9contacts the hair side of the hide and has means operable to part thehair of the hide along the cutting line as better seen from FIGS. 3and4. The cutting means 14 that extends through slot 7 and rail 6 isoperable to sever the hide along the cutting line to form and toseparate hide parts for confronting edge portions. The relative movementof plates 2 and 3 along the cutting line is operable to shift the hideparts into staggered rela tion, and the movement of plates 2 and 3transversely to the cutting line and relative to each other is effectiveto press together, as shown in FIG. 5, the confronting edge portions ofthe hide parts to accommodate stitching such hide parts together in theestablished staggered relation.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for letting out hides and the like, which comprises abase means disposed to receive the hide to be let-out and having anelongated opening extending along and about a reference cutting line, afirst tween the cutting line and said first regions, said second pair ofholders including a rail which contacts the hide on the hair-free sidethereof, and a carriage which contacts the hair side of the hide and hasmeans operable to part the hair of the hide along said cutting line;cutter means operable to sever the hide along said cutting line to formtwoseparate hide parts having confronting edge portions; said first pairof holders being movable one relative to the other along said cuttingline to position said hide parts in staggered relation to one another,said first pair of holders being movable one relative to the other alongsaid line transverse to the cutting line to press together theconfronting edge portions of said hide parts to accommodate stitchingsaid hide parts together in staggered relation.

2. An apparatus according to claim I wherein said first pair of holdersare in the form of plates movable relative to the base means.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said first pair of holdershave facing edges which press together the confronting edge portions ofsaid hide parts.

I rail and carriage are in overlapping alignment to-press pair ofholders operable to grip the hide along two first 4. -An apparatusaccording to claim 1 wherein said between them the hide.

5. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the carriage has surfacesarranged to part the hair of the hide when pressed thereagainst.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said rail has alongitudinal slit positioned in alignment with said cutting line andoperable to receive and guide a cutter therealong 7. An apparatusaccording to claim 1 wherein said cutter means includes a motor-drivenblade movable in parallel relation to edges of said first pair ofholders and in alignment with said cutting line. =l

1. An apparatus for letting out hides and the like, which comprises abase means disposed to receive the hide to be let-out and having anelongated opening extending along and about a reference cutting line, afirst pair of holders operable to grip the hide along two firstlengthwise regions disposed in opposite spaced-apart relation about saidcutting line, said first pair of holders being movable relative to eachother along said cutting line and movable relative to each other along aline transverse to said cUtting line; a second pair of holders movablerelative to each other and operable to grip the hide along two secondlengthwise regions deposed between the cutting line and said firstregions, said second pair of holders including a rail which contacts thehide on the hair-free side thereof, and a carriage which contacts thehair side of the hide and has means operable to part the hair of thehide along said cutting line; cutter means operable to sever the hidealong said cutting line to form two separate hide parts havingconfronting edge portions; said first pair of holders being movable onerelative to the other along said cutting line to position said hideparts in staggered relation to one another, said first pair of holdersbeing movable one relative to the other along said line transverse tothe cutting line to press together the confronting edge portions of saidhide parts to accommodate stitching said hide parts together instaggered relation.
 2. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein saidfirst pair of holders are in the form of plates movable relative to thebase means.
 3. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said first pairof holders have facing edges which press together the confronting edgeportions of said hide parts.
 4. An apparatus according to claim 1wherein said rail and carriage are in overlapping alignment to pressbetween them the hide.
 5. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein thecarriage has surfaces arranged to part the hair of the hide when pressedthereagainst.
 6. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said rail hasa longitudinal slit positioned in alignment with said cutting line andoperable to receive and guide a cutter therealong
 7. An apparatusaccording to claim 1 wherein said cutter means includes a motor-drivenblade movable in parallel relation to edges of said first pair ofholders and in alignment with said cutting line.